AI hardware guide
What the different classes of AI hardware are, and which problems each one exists to solve.
Short answer
What kind of AI hardware do I actually need?
Match the hardware class to the job: a workstation card for one person prototyping, a GPU server for a team, an integrated system or cluster for production training. Memory on the accelerator decides what you can run at all; everything else decides how fast.
Assumption Assumes you are running or fine-tuning existing models rather than pre-training a large model from scratch, which changes the answer entirely.
Last reviewed · Durable technical
Accelerators
The processor doing the AI maths. Sold as desktop cards, workstation cards or server modules that cannot go in a desktop.
Workstations
A complete deskside system, built and tested around one or two accelerators.
GPU servers
Rack or tower systems holding several accelerators, shared across a team or an application.
Integrated systems
Compute, networking, storage and software delivered and supported as one platform.
Clusters
Multiple servers connected by a dedicated fabric for distributed work.
Rented compute
Any of the above, accessed without owning the hardware.
| Item | Figure | Verification |
|---|---|---|
| One person, prototyping | Workstation card in a deskside systemBasis: Typical single-user fine-tuning and inference workloads under a few hours per day. | Estimate |
| Shared across a team | GPU server, rack or towerBasis: Several concurrent users needing scheduled access to the same accelerators. | Estimate |
| Production training | Integrated system or cluster with a dedicated fabricBasis: Distributed jobs where interconnect bandwidth, not card count, is the limit. | Estimate |
| Below a few hours of daily use | Rented compute is usually cheaperBasis: Rental rates against purchase price amortised over three years; run the numbers for your own hours. | Estimate |
| Current UK lead times | Withheld — we could not verify this against a manufacturer source.Basis: Changes weekly by part and by allocation; we quote it per enquiry rather than publish it. | Not verified |
Not covered here
- Which specific accelerator fits the model I want to run? Covered separately
- What does it cost to rent instead of buy? Covered separately
- What is my existing hardware worth? Covered separately
- What power and cooling will a rack need on my site? Site-specific, so we assess it with you as part of an enquiry.
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Last reviewed · Evergreen · re-checked at least every 730 days